should i trade my '53 ford for a galaxie?

Well the title says it all but here is some background...

I bought a '53 ford mainline coupe I have some pics of in my profile. I spun a bearing in the original flatty and it has been down for two years while my cousin who runs a shop has shaved everything and rounded the hood corners and frenched the lights, frenched in olds taillights, and lowered 3inches front,3 rear and put skirts on. I have a flathead with only 23k original miles on it and a 3 speed overdrive to go in it.

I also happen to have a soft spot for galaxies. They look good every style but I especially love early lowrider/mild custom ones lowered over astro supremes and 1inch whitewalls. I have a 2 year old girl and a boy due in july, and me and my wife are in the process of buyibg our first house so money is tight and so havibg a driver with a more modern drivetrain would be great to have versus a not done project mild custom.

My cousin loves the '53 and has said he would be willing to find and trade a 62-64 two door galaxie in driving condition for it.

I'm very torn because I love shoebox fords as customs and I love evrything about flatheads, but galaxies have been a dream car since a child. So gimme your two cents and tell me if I'm crazy for considering it or if its a good comprimise.

 

Yes. Absolutely.

 

Guess it depends on the galaxie.

 

I'm a big Galaxie fan too. The one I had was the most dependable car I've ever owned. When I got it, it was a piece of junk, but even with minimal funds, I was able to fix it up and drive it all day long. I would say go for it.

 

Yea of course I wouldn't trade for a basket case.lol.

 

Thanks betty! I don't hear anything bad about 'em from ford people and the drivetrains are easy to maintain and parts are everywhere.

 

Yes. Shoeboxes are cool, but Galaxies are the shit.

 

Definitely. And with the kids, it will be great. My step-daughter still misses mine.

 

get what you want while you can do it.

 

T R A D E

It's been over 2 years, get driving a cool car

 

Yea hotroddon that's how I feel. I hate coming outta work or the store and having to get in my boring daily, and I miss having a car at the local cruise night.

 

Look the galaxie up and down and every which way first. Sounds like you're close to having a driver in the '53. You'd be trading a known condition car for an unknown. I love both the 52-54 as well as the Galaxies.
Sounds like you already know the answer to your own question though. Find out how deep the water is before you jump.

 

Depends on what year Galaxie......

 

yea the car should be drivable with some hard work pretty quick, but it won't have a decent interior and I won't be able to afford chrome or final paint for a few years. And if the flatty takes a dump I won't be able to scrape up the funds to fix it very fast. On the other hand I know the car like the back of my hand and the galaxie would be unknown.

 

My opinion won't be very much help, I'm a little biased toward the Galaxies. The first car I had in 1977 was a '63 1/2 XL, since then I've owned a '63 Factory Lightweight and about (15) others (not counting parts cars) including the current '62 (my first '62) and the (3) '63 projects I have going.

But, if the Galaxie is a pile of crap then I'd stick with the '53 and maybe just find a SBF to make it a little more suited to daily driving.





ps - Not that it matters, but the only years I like in the Galaxies are '61 (Starliners only for me), '62 and '63 (Fastback only for me).

 

Yea paulie I like the 62 and 63s the best. I considered a sbf for the "53 but the flathead and was almost talked into a 5speed behind the flatty, but one of the things I enjoy about this hobby is driving an old car, quirks and all. Your cars are gorgeus by the way! What are you running in the black car?

 

Any particular things to look for on a 62-64 galaxie? Common rust spots, engine or tranny problems, etc?

 

KEEP the '53. The mainline you show is not a coupe,it's a coach. Still worth finishing. Unless you are offered a super nice Galaxie you are just trading one problem for another. The 53 is a cooler car hands down.You can swap an engine into it over a weekend without breaking a sweat. If you have the engine,whats the hold up? Get a couple of friends to help you if you aren't sure how to procede. Once it's mobile you can make a much better trade, but you probably won't want to.Good Luck.

 

I really got no excuse for the hold up. I'm busy with buying a house and work 4 to midnight so I just haven't been motivated until spring came.

 

He's right that's not a cpe in your avatar it's a 2 dr. sedan. The 49/50 in you album is a coupe though

 

I should make the trade. Much better comfort in the
galaxie for the family more space better heating
more dependabel driveline better brakes
less noise

 

Trading a 50's car for a 60's car is trading down in my opinion. Even the coolest 60's rides aren't any where near as cool as even the lamest of 50's rides!

 

lets see...here is my opinion...
no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!
im a lil biased towards 52-54 fords.
but you can play around with them wayy more and its nuch easier to work under the hood.

 

Can anyone guess which way I vote on this?.......lol

Plenty of nice Galaxie's out there...some for a pretty good price.

M.

 

OH HELL!!Its just an old FORD! TRADE!!

 

I say keep the 53, they are great cars!

 

if it was me (and its not) and the galaxie was a 61 starliner (id trade the 53 the house the kids the dog and the kitchen sink for it) or 63 or 64 fastback 500 xl id trade for those also

if it was another year galaxie it would have to be a very nice galaxie

sounds like the 53 is pretty much done and i completely understand about the low on funds deal
ive sold a few cars before i got em finished (close but not) and of course ive regretted "having" to sell them

 

I had a 64 Galaxie 500 that was horse traded for my 1954 Ford Customline project... not sure if that helps but hey.

 

Keep the '53! If your wife is going to drive it she probably would not want to park a Galaxy !

 

A good GAL is so FINE.